Tip of The Day Thread

David Loukides

David Loukides

Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
1,363
I Thought I would start With 2 Tips. The first one Mace Vitali Gave Me.

Use a Paper Bag as the final Abrasive or rub down for Tru-Oil when finishing your wood handle. Thanks Mace!!!!

Use your leather punch to make plugs to keep your finish out of your thong hole tubes

Do you have a Simple Time Saving Tip?
 
When end drilling round stock (making a tube out of a cylinder), spin the work against a stationary drill. That will make the drill seek the center of the bar stock.
 
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

Chips off the drill press are hot. One caught me on the lower lip yesterday (first time in I-don't-know-how-many-hours of making holes) and now it looks like I have a big ol' cold sore.
 
Make it for your self, it will always look nicer

Also, don't put your face too close to the drill press, you might get a burnt lip:) lol
 
Ha ha, very funny! You would think I would learn after having a hot chip fly up/down the sleeve of my sweatshirt a few weeks ago and get stuck in there. (I know, long sleeves and power tools don't mix but hey, it's cold in my shop) Anyway, I now know exactly how fast I can take my hoodie off.
 
When you get aggravated/frustrated with a project stop, take a break, cool off and come back when your mind clears.
 
darrin sanders said:
When you get aggravated/frustrated with a project stop, take a break, cool off and come back when your mind clears.
Click to expand...
AMEN! If i start to feel rushed or even slightly aggravated I step away and go play with the granddaughter or dog or something to relax for like 15 mins then take a deep breath and start back!
 
Just because the metal ain't red don't mean it ain't hot....

Never walk barefoot when someone's using a solid fuel forge.

You can use a 1/3 shirt palm sander to flat sand blades. Replace the squooshy plate and replace it with micarta. Use a foot switch on the power cord.

Fitting up hidden tang, if you have a oversized hole in the handle material. Wrap the tang with teflon tape, fill the hole with 5 minute epoxy and run it on there then remove after epoxy sets. Now you have a perfectly fitted hidden tang hole.
 
this one may only apply to newbs like myself but, half assing home made tools is a bad, not to mention dangerous, practice. if you cant do it right and have no desire to learn to do so, pay someone else to do it.
 
If you see fresh blood in your shop look around, scream for help if you're alone.

Who was the Canadian from Moosejaw that was always doing dangerous a@@ stuff after we warned him then would come back with a "I shoulda listened."
 
Strong, positionable light on both sides of your grinder(s), as well as your grinders being at the right height, will help immensely with improving your grinds. I use those goose-neck type bench lamps on my grinders. Sweeping plunges come out more nicely when you can see what's happening clearly.
 
I know this is often times a big no-no... but for many blades, I will do 90% of my hammer work on one side, only flipping the piece to straighten. Right up to the plunge line. Then I flip the blade, line up the plunge on the edge of the anvil and smack the ricasso with a wooden mallet to center the bevels. I find it faster this way with less heats involved. Get all your heavy hitting and high heat out of the way and use the mallet and low heating cycles to knock it straight.

Rick
 
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